A Golden Globe and an Academy Award nominee, a dancer, and a Spain TV actress, itís no doubt Penelope Cruz is one of the most successful Spanish actresses who was able to break into the world of American Hollywood films. She was born in April 28, 1974 in San Sebastian de los Reyes, Madrid, Spain to her parents Eduardo Cruz, a retailer, and Encarna Sanchez, a hairdresser. At a very young age, Penelope Cruz, has been showing potentials in the performing arts by imitating TV commercials. She then studied classical ballet for nine years at Spainís National Conservatory then she continued her training under a series of prominent dancers.
She made her debut on the realm of entertainment when she appeared in the music video, La Fuerza del destino for the Spanish synthpop group Mecano. She was also a TV host for the teen-oriented program, La Quinta Marcha. Her first major film appearances were on Jamon, jamon and Belle Epoque, which won an Academy Award for Foreign Language Film. In 1997, she played the role of Sofia Pangia, together with actor Eduardo Noriega in Abre Los Ojos which was remade in Hollywood as Vanilla Sky where she also starred opposite Tom Cruise. She has recently starred in Volver, a film by the acclaimed Pedro Almodovar, which enjoyed much praises from different award-giving organizations.